Elijah Challenge Basic Training & Evangelistic Rally
Penang Christian Centre | Penang, Malaysia | June 2009
Malaysian disciples visit and heal the sick in their homes
Other Elijah Challenge events in Malaysia
The Elijah Challenge was hosted by Pastors Isaac and Lydia Chan of Penang Christian Centre
Penang is near the northwest corner of Peninsular Malaysia
First, the Basic TrainingThe Lord was faithful to reveal His grace at the first session of the Basic Training here in the island state of Penang. At the demonstration of healing at the end of the session, all four people who came forward with an infirmity testified that they were either healed or much improved after participants laid hands on them and exercised their authority. The disciples were encouraged.
The immediate goal of the Training was to prepare the disciples to visit the lost in their homes and to heal the sick who are there for the purpose of proclaiming the kingdom of God. This is in accordance with Jesus' instructions to his seventy disciples in Luke 10:1-9.
This may well have been the first time in Malaysia that a church was trained to do such a thing. Malaysia is a country of which the official religion is that taught by Mohamm--d. According to the law, the native Malays must follow that religion and cannot convert to any other. Moreover, the Chinese here are predominantly idol- and ancestor-worshipers. Christians are mostly ethnic Chinese and Indians and constitute a small minority of the population. By law, public evangelism is very restricted. Under such very difficult conditions, the gospel is usually preached within the walls of the churches and rarely outside in any organized and overt way. When it comes to evangelism, believers in Malaysia usually walk very carefully and softly.
On Saturday morning and early afternoon, trained disciples from Penang Christian Center went to a low-income community called Rifle Range to visit the homes and to heal the sick as part of a bold proclamation of the kingdom of God. Some of them had opportunities to heal infirm people in their homes as they had been taught. After that they returned to the church for the final Training session where several of the disciples came to the front to testify how the Lord had used them to heal the sick. The disciples were greatly encouraged at how the Lord had used them on the enemy's own territory. It may well have been the first time in Malaysia that disciples were sent out as Jesus sent out the Seventy 2,000 years ago.
Luke 10:1 After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. ...5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. ...9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’
What is significant is that in the past such healings almost always took place in a church at healing services where well-known evangelists were invited to minister to the sick one by one. The lost had to be invited and brought by a church member to the meeting. Such an approach has proven to be ineffective in fulfilling the Great Commission. Now the Lord has provided a new model which is in accordance with Scripture. Trained disciples are sent to the homes of the lost and heal the sick there as part of the proclamation of the kingdom of God (Luke 10). This new model will be far more effective than the former one and involves an army of nameless disciples reaching the lost in their own homes.
After this we conducted evangelistic healing rallies in the church.
Then, the Evangelistic Healing RalliesThe Lord was gracious to confirm the gospel at our final meeting in Penang. We shared what Jesus had said about himself.
John 11:25 “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die."
We also shared from Luke 13 where Jesus spoke these chilling words to people who attended his meetings:
22 Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” He said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.
25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ 26 “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’
We explained that it is not enough for us to go to church and be in the Lord's presence and to listen to His teaching. Believing in Jesus Christ is far more than that. Many church-goers and "Christians" will try to enter through the narrow door---Jesus Christ---and will not be able to. Therefore we are to make every effort to enter.
To confirm the Lord's words, we asked Him to heal the infirm at the meeting through the trained disciples. After prayer, they laid hands on the infirm, and many testified that the Lord had healed them. Several Chinese-speaking elderly people testified that the Lord had restored their sight. The Lord had graciously confirmed His words through the many miraculous healings.
Afterwards,we challenged the people to obey the Lord's commands, not simply to "believe" on Him without the evidence of fruit in their lives. Everyone understood.
Many testimonies of miraculous healing confirm the gospel of Jesus Christ
Impaired hearing was restored as well as strength in his legs
Her blurry vision become clear and she could see words on the screen
Something blocking her eyesight was removed and her vision become bright; her tearing stopped
Healed of back pain caused by accident
"My legs were painful for one week so I took a lot of Chinese medicine. But now there’s no more pain and my strength has been restored."
Joints in hands were painful & swollen; now much better
Her eyes were very dry and painful; now there’s no more pain and her vision is clearer
Her right leg was numb but is now getting better
Her eyesight is much better, her hearing is better, and she is no longer afraid of dying because she now believes in Jesus Christ
He could not bend or squat because of an injury to his right knee. The Lord healed not only his knee but also his wrist as a bonus.
Pain in her ear had spread to her head. But all pain completely disappeared.
Her hearing was restored
Her right arm had been fractured from a fall six weeks ago. The tightness left and she could lift up her arm.
Completely healed from headache and shoulder pain
After an injection her leg became paralyzed and numb. But her strength was restored as she felt the Lord’s power on her.
Above & below: this woman had been unable to walk for a year. But she got up out of her wheelchair and walked.
At the upper right on the stage, a man wearing orange shorts testifies that the bone in his right flat foot was better and stronger
She was tired, had difficulty breathing along with a problem in her throat. She felt much better after the Lord's disciples ministered to her.
For two weeks she had had back pain from top to bottom because of work stress. The Lord healed her completely.
This gentleman had had pressure in his sinus for many years along with a backache for two years. The sinus pressure was released and his back was better. It was also revealed that he had anger toward some church members.
The elderly woman testified that something (perhaps a growth) on her leg had vanished and that her eyes could see more clearly. "Jesus is my healer so I don’t need to pay money for a doctor," she quipped.
Luke 10:9 "Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.’"
